It’s Easy Being Green

May 23, 2012

Creating a non-toxic lifestyle has been an ongoing process for me and is still a work in progress. I am amazed at the rate things are changing and the new discoveries and technologies that appear each day. When I first created Groovy Green Livin my intention was to create a space for sharing tips on healthy eating, living a green and clean lifestyle, and forming a community of like-minded eco peeps. I’m very grateful that it’s blossomed into so much more.

Over the years the most common question I receive is “Where do I begin?” There’s a lot of green information out there. As we go through our daily lives we are confronted with information overload, pressuring us to buy specific brands –the media, our friends, family-everyone has an opinion. How do we sort through it all? How can we be sure we are making good choices for ourselves and our families?

I always suggest starting with small, simple changes. Here are my top three:

Start to phase out plastics in your home-especially those that come in contact with food.Plastic and food just don’t belong together. There are so many toxic chemicals in plastic that can leach into your food. The production of plastic is hurting our environment. Plastic ends up in our water ways and landfills, killing wildlife and not decomposing.

Make the switch to reusable bags. The next time you visit the supermarket bring along reusable bags. Leave them in the front seat of your car so you remember them. For those visits to the mall or pharmacy carry a smaller version in your bag or backpack.

Leave your shoes at the door. Our country has an obsession with the “perfect lawn” requiring applications of synthetic pesticides that are not only killing weeds and other naturally occurring plants, but are harmful to you and the environment. All of those toxins march right into your living space when you wear your shoes from outdoors into your home. We have declared our home a “shoe free” zone. All shoes come off in the garage and they stay there until the next time we venture out. We try to remind our friends and family to honor our request for a shoeless house and we are grateful that everyone is very respectful. The best solution: we stop using pesticides on our lawns.

There are so many different ways to be green. What would you add to the list?